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Posts Tagged ‘Foot numbness’

What causes foot numbness? You know, that horrible “pins and needles” sensation you keep getting in your feet (and sometimes hands), that takes forever to go away. Don’t ignore painful tingling in the extremities, because it could be a sign of a severe injury or underlying illness. If you frequently experience foot numbness throughout the day, then alert your doctor immediately. Here are some possible causes of foot numbness.

Vitamin B12 deficiency

Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient for your nerves- it helps to maintain myelin, a fatty substance that coats the nerve cells of your brain and spinal cord, insulating them from inflammation and exposure to viruses. Myelin also supports communication between the nerve cells, providing a slick surface for quick and effective delivery.

When you don’t have enough vitamin B12 to maintain myelin, the result is a breakdown of the myelin sheath, called demyelination, which impairs your nervous system functioning. Vitamin B12 deficiency, or pernicious anemia, is a common cause of foot numbness, painful tingling, and other forms of nerve damage that occur when the myelin sheath become diminished.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Multiple sclerosis (MS), like pernicious anemia, is also a demyelinating disease, but it is much rarer and more detrimental. Peripheral nerve damage from MS goes beyond foot numbness, and causes difficulty walking, manipulating your arms and legs, or controlling your bladder.

Because of its similarity to symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency, patients of MS are advised to have their vitamin B12 levels checked routinely, in addition to receiving treatments for muscles spasms, fatigue, or foot numbness caused by multiple sclerosis.

Shingles

If you had chickenpox as a child, then you may develop shingles in your old age. In addition to foot numbness, other symptoms of shingles include painful burning skin rash, blistering, fever, and joint pain.

Herniated disk

A herniated disk occurs when a disk in your spine slips and causes nerve pressure. Symptoms of herniated disk in the lower back include sharp pain in the hips and legs, in addition to foot numbness or weakened leg muscles.

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Is painful tingling in your hands andfeet rubbing you the wrong way? Do you suffer sharp, prickly tingling in your face, or fingers and toes? Chronic peripheral neuropathy causes numbness in your fingers, hands, feet, and toes- that feeling you get when your legs “fall asleep.” Several diseases and conditions may cause neuropathic pain symptoms; the only way to treat the never-ending tingling in your hands and feet is to find out what’s causing it…

What causes annoying tingling in the hands and feet?

Pernicious anemia

One of the earliest symptoms of vitaminB12 deficiency anemia is neuropathic pain- sufferers of vitamin B12 deficiency feel sharp, achy tingling in the hands and feet, numbness, “pins and needles,” or a painfully swollen tongue.

Even if you eat sufficient food sources of vitamin B12 from meat, fish, and dairy sources, you might have dangerously low B12 levels.

Causes include autoimmune disorders, gastrointestinal diseases or surgeries, drug interactions, or the inability to produce intrinsic factor in the stomach. To find out if you have vitamin B12 deficiency, ask your physician for a vitamin B12 blood test- you might require vitamin B12 supplements.

Striking a nerve

If you have suffered a head or neck injury, then you may experience numbness in your arms. Similarly, a lower-back injury could cause painful numbness in your legs.

Shingles

If you’ve ever had the Chicken Pox, then you’re a candidate for shingles. The herpes zoster virus appears around middle age, and causes neuropathic pain such as painful skin rash, itchiness, red blisters, and painful tingling and numbness.

Frostbite

Nerve pressure

If you have suffered a herniated disk, then painful nerve pressure on your spine may cause tingling and numbness in legs. Dilated blood vessels, scar tissue, infections, or tumors may also cause severe peripheral neuropathy.